How to Set Up Rules With Your New Summer Roommates

By Danielle Wirsansky on May 23, 2017

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Summer has finally arrived after a rough spring semester, so you know what that means: summer classes, summer jobs, and … new summer roommates!

If you have decided to stay in town during the summer, you might have found yourself looking for an apartment to sublet or for a new roommate to take up an empty room in your own apartment. Regardless of the circumstances, you now find yourself with a new set of roommates for the long summer months.

There is not a lot of downtime between the spring semester, its exam week and graduations, and the first week of summer classes. You and your new roommates have got to move fast and get acclimated to the new living situation quickly. In order to facilitate this transition, you need to set up ground rules and fast.

Read on to learn how to set up rules (and which rules) with your new summer roommates!

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Split up chores and set boundaries

The first thing that needs to be done is assigning chores and setting up basic house rules! No household runs smoothly without following basic protocols, like taking out garbage, washing dishes, and paying bills. Whether you are the newcomer or you are welcoming a newcomer, it is important to make sure the jobs are doled out so that nothing falls behind and ends up in disarray.

Disarray can lead to resentment which leads to anger, fights, confrontations, and more. Avoid both physical and emotional messes by setting up chores and boundaries from the start. It is up to you and your roommate to decide how you want to split them up; whether each of you will switch tasks every week or if you will do the same chores all summer, you need to work it out between the two of you. Make the cleaning schedule clear. Make the cleaning schedule fair. What each of us prefers or prefers not to do in regards to chores is different.

You also need to set clear boundaries about noise, visitors to the space, and use of shared items to name a few. Perhaps you abhor dishwashing and dirty dishes really skeeve you out, or your roommate is not always strong enough to take the trash out because the dumpster is particularly far away. Perhaps you play the drums and need to practice while your roommate likes to have their friends over all the time — figure out a compromise so that everyone is okay with what they have to do or endure and will actually stick to the agreement and abide by the rules.

And most importantly, keep open communication. Avoid mix ups and mess ups and any resulting resentment by talking out your issues. If you feel like you are doing too much or your roommate is contributing too much mess, talk about it! If your roommate is eating all your cereal, or you do not like the way your roommate is loading the dishwasher, discuss it! Do not let the situation get to a boiling point.

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Tackle décor

After you have gotten the toughest topics out of the way, the next thing you can discuss with your summer roommate is how to decorate your space! Of course each person can decorate their own rooms to their own tastes, but both of you should be aware of the rules regarding decorations that your property manager has in place. Can you paint the walls? Are you allowed to use nails to hang things on the wall? Will Command strips and hooks work efficiently on whatever paint or wallpaper in your apartment without destroying the walls? There are things that are important to know before you begin decorating.

Then you need to find a way to compromise your tastes for the décor in the common areas. If you guys need to buy or rent any furniture, what is more important, budget or aesthetic? Is there a specific price range or aesthetic that you can both agree or compromise on? Choices like that that affect common spaces should be mutual decisions.

The same goes for art as it does for furniture. You might like to hang giant abstract paintings on the wall, while your roommate prefers to hang vintage movie posters. You can’t just put up any decoration you like, especially if it might somehow make your roommate feel uncomfortable. The space does not belong to either one of you as individuals and so you need to respect each other’s wishes and keep common areas comfortable areas.

If you like to light incense and have it around the house but your roommate is really allergic and asks you not to, you have to respect that wish. If your roommate hangs a piece of art or has a sculpture of something and puts it on your coffee table that makes you uncomfortable, you have every right to ask them to remove it. Just treat each other with respect.

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